Riding out storm on the Bolsa Chica

On Jan. 2, a storm blew in from the Pacific with howling fury. The storm brought disaster to some, but I saw the confluence of the storm and high tide as a great opportunity.

I wanted to make sure that I had planted the new spiny rush at Bolsa Chica at the high tide line and not below it. Viewing a high tide of 6.9 feet accompanied by a major winter storm was also good for planning for next month’s plantings.

The weather channel radar showed rain coming down on the coast in buckets. Vic said he had bird census results to compile for the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas count. Otherwise, he would have loved to go with me during the height of the storm to check on the plantings. At least that’s what he told me, but I thought that his voice lacked sincerity. Vic simply smiled as he stirred his hot cocoa and settled down in front of his computer.

I’m no weather wimp. I threw on a windbreaker and drove to Warner Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway at high tide. The first thing that I noted when I stepped out of my car was that my windbreaker was not waterproof. The second thing I noted was that rain driven sideways by gale-force winds instantly soaks your pants and fills your boots with water. The wind was so strong that I had trouble catching my breath and my glasses were fogged beyond redemption. When I turned into the wind, the rain driving into my face felt like an acupuncturist had gone berserk.

Still, I had a job to do. I walked to the channel that was cut between Anaheim Bay and Bolsa Bay over a hundred years ago by Tom Talbert using horse-drawn plows. The new plantings there were fine. When I faced into the wind to walk south along the bluff, I had to lean forward to remain upright. Stronger gusts pushed me backward, so for safety’s sake, I walked farther away from the edge than I normally do. Much farther away. I was about 20 feet from the south edge of the embankment when the wind lashed some waves up and over the edge. The salt water flew across the mesa and caught me in the face. No wonder the soil on Little Mesa is so salty.

The weather channel had warned that erosion might occur on south-facing beaches. I should have guessed that this applied to the south-facing banks of the normally placid bay as well. The wind had whipped up waves two to three feet high on Outer Bolsa Bay. The whitecaps beat against south-facing dirt embankments, relentlessly cutting them back and filling the blue water with clouds of brown.

Only four surf scoters, black sea birds that dive to the bottom to feed on mussels, braved the wild waters of Outer Bolsa Bay. The tens of thousands of birds normally found there were nowhere to be seen. A lone brown pelican attempted to fly against the wind. It beat its wings strongly but moved steadily backward. When it stopped flapping to rest its wings and glide, it moved backward even faster.

The birds had a hard time of it with this storm. Some probably died. The plants seemed to have fared better. This rain was just what they needed. The hundreds of new plantings that we’ve made this season on Little Mesa at Bolsa Chica looked healthy. In three years, the edge of Little Mesa next to Pacific Coast Highway should be transformed by lush growth of coastal sage scrub. It will provide cover, protection and food for the animals that live there.

The rain should also benefit the plantings that the Bolsa Chica Land Stewards have made over the past decade. They work on the lower bench of Bolsa Mesa. While we’re very happy to see the mesa finally in public ownership, we do worry about it. It will be interesting to see what the future holds.

Up until now, the mesa has been somewhat protected by a chain-link fence and security guards hired by Hearthside Homes. Great blue herons nest in the eucalyptus trees behind the fence, and hawks hunt over the open fields, undisturbed by people. We hope the fence remains in place, because the extent of lawlessness that goes on in the no man’s land just outside of that fence is appalling. The area next to the former Bolsa Chica Gun Club has been devastated by paint-ballers, dirt-bike riders, and remote-controlled car enthusiasts as they dig, cut and destroy habitat for their own selfish purposes.

Once the guards are gone, the mesa could be subjected to a nightmare of destruction. When the paint-ballers cut the chain link fence again, who will repair it now that the mesa is in public ownership? Who will patrol it? It’s in the county’s jurisdiction, but the Sheriff’s Department has seemed reluctant to enforce laws there. Dog owners currently treat the flood control channel pathways as their private no-leash park, even though being there is trespassing. If people begin cutting paths across the lower bench and letting their dogs run free there, it will be an ecological catastrophe. It’s a sad fact that people are capable of doing far more damage to the Bolsa Chica than a mere storm ever could.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and environmentalists. They can be reached at vicleipzig@aol.com.

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